How to customize BlackBerry Priv keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts have long been a part of the BlackBerry experience and with the Priv, and ultimately BlackBerry's move to Android, they were sure to bring that experience and ease of use along. In fact, some might argue that the keyboard shortcut experience on the Priv is better than any previous BlackBerry device due to the fact the options are so plentiful and extremely customizable.

On the Priv, you get a bevy of preloaded shortcuts but should you wish to venture out on your own, you even have the option of choosing long press options and short press options, meaning you can have more than one shortcut assigned to any given key. It is quite a fantastic experience, and if you're wondering what those preloaded shortcuts are or how you can create your own, this is the guide for you.

Preloaded keyboard shortcuts

A - Open the Contacts app

B - Open a browser

C - Compose an email

D - Add a note in the Notes app

H - Open the Help app

K - Lock the device screen

L - Open a calendar app to the current day

M - Open the BlackBerry Hub

N - Open BBM

O - Open the device settings

P - Open the call history

S - Open a search app

T - Add a task in the Tasks app

U - Open the Calculator

W - Call voicemail

Create your own keyboard shortcuts

On the home screen, tap The All Items icon then go to the Settings icon in the top right. From there, tap on Keyboard shortcuts.

Tap Short press or Long press depending on which kind of shortcut you wish to create. From there, you will be presented with options to choose from such as Open app, Speed dial, Send message or All shortcuts

If you tap on All Shortcuts, you will be presented with all of the available options, of which there are many to choose from.

Once you have selected your choice of shortcut, it will instantly be saved. You can tehn return to the homescreen of your device and test it out.

Truth be told, there are several different ways in which you can create keyboard shortcuts throughout the OS but what I've laid out here is the most basic for everyone to use aside from the fact you can also assign a shortcut to an unassigned key by pressing the key while the home screen is showing, but most people would need to know shortcut options exist in the first place to make use of that, and we can't assume everyone knows that. Go forth now and make all the keyboard shortcuts you want to make your life easier.

Oh right, before I forget. Are you a short press keyboard shortcut hater? That's cool too. There's no requirement to use them at all, and BlackBerry has made it easy to disable them entirely if you wish. By default, when you type on the physical keyboard from the home screen, your device uses short press keyboard shortcuts. You can change your settings so that typing on the physical keyboard either does nothing or starts a search in the BlackBerry Device Search app. On the home screen, tap the menu button, go to the Settings icon in the top right, choose Typing action. From there, Tap Do nothing and they will be disabled.